January 14

On this date in 1997, a previously convicted felon, Yitzak Abba Marta, 21, was convicted of the murder of a black, gay transvestite, Alan Fitzgerald Walker, who was beaten and strangled in his home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on November 9, 1996. Written in blood in Mr. Walker's home were the two-foot sized letters "KKK". Adam David Blackford was also convicted in the slaying and testified against Marta. Marta, who is Mexican and who was previously convicted of residential burglary and given a five-year prison sentence for that crime in 1993, was sentenced to life without parole on July 11, 1997 for murdering Mr. Walker. Two years after his murder conviction Marta was sentenced to 18 months on top of his life prison term for Second Degree Escape, according to online information provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction. 

In 2008 on this date in Queens in New York City, David C. Wood, 36, who lived at 76-52 263rd Street in the Floral Park section of the New York City borough at the time of his arrest, is alleged to have yelled racial slurs at a Sikh man, Chadha Bajeet (at times referred in the press as Baljeet Singh and Jabeet Chadha), 63, on 95th Avenue in the New Hyde Park section of Queens after Mr. Bajeet had parked his car and was walking into a place of worship. Charged with second-degree assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment and originally arrested on four counts of assault, two of which were classified as hate crimes, and one count of aggravated harassment, Wood is said to have screamed, “Arab, go back to your country!” at Mr. Bajeet before allegedly punching him in the face, breaking Mr. Bajeet's nose and jaw. Wood was held on $10,000 bail. His next court appearance was schedulted for January 21, 2009. If convicted, Mr. Wood could receive up to 15 years in prison. For details of other hate crimes directed toward Sikhs, please visit the news archive at unitedsikhs.org.

At her home in South Hadley, Massachusetts on this date in 2010 Phoebe Prince, 15, an Irish transfer student at the South Hadley High School who had lived in the United States for just five months, commit suicide by hanging herself after enduring months of relentless torment by some of her classmates in large part because of her national origin. She was found by one of her sisters. A handful of the high school freshman's schoolmates repeatedly harassed her, humiliated her in front of others at various locations at school, and even threatened her with physical violence, while no teacher or school administrator took any action to stop the bullying that began in September 2009. Phoebe Prince endured students calling her an "Irish slut" and a "whore" in person and on numerous social networking sites and other online sites, namely Twitter, Craigslist, Facebook and Formspring. In addition to the cyberbullying, Phoebe's books were knocked out of her hands, objects were hurled at her, and threatening text messages were sent to her mobile phone. On March 29, 2010, the following South Hadley High School students were indicted: Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley, was charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury (a hate crime), criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly; Kayla Narey, 17, also of South Hadley, was charged with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury (a hate crime), criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly; Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley, was charged as a youthful offender with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury (a hate crime); Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley, was charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury (a hate crime); Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley, was charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury (a hate crime); and, Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield, Massachusetts was charged with statutory rape. Renaud was the only person not alleged to have bullied Ms. Prince. In addition to those six students, three 16-year-old South Hadley girls, whose names were not released, faced delinquency charges that include the civil rights offense, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly. On May 4, 2011, Sean Mulveyhill, 18, pleaded guilty in Northampton Superior Court to criminal harassment, and charges of statutory rape and violating Phoebe's civil rights (a hate crime) were dismissed. Mulveyhill was sentenced to one year on probation and to perform 100 hours of community service with at-risk youth. Also on May 4, 2011, Kayla Narey admitted to sufficient facts in Northampton Superior Court to one count of criminal harassment and the hate crime charge against her was dropped; she too was handed a sentence of one year on probation and ordered to perform community service. The following day on May 5, 2011, in the Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court in Hadley, Massachusetts, Sharon Velazquez, Flannery Mullins, and Ashley Longe were each sentenced to less than a year on probation as part of a plea deal. All of the hate crime charges were dropped against the teenagers. Also on May 5, 2011, Austin Renaud had his statutory rape charge dropped in the Northampton Superior Court. As part of their sentencing, Sharon C. Velazquez, Flannery Mullins, and Ashley Longe were also ordered to perform community service; and the five former South Hadley High School students who were convicted were also ordered to obtain their high school graduate equivalency diplomas, not profit from the high-profile bullying case, and stay away from Phoebe’s family while on probation. All of those arrested —like Phoebe Prince who was originally from County Clare, Ireland—were white. Less than two weeks after the legal findings against the defendants were rendered, Senior Counselor to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Jocelyn Samuels, testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about school harassment and school bullying.

On this date in 2011 in Fresno, California, Brian Lewis, 23, of Modesto, California, and Abel Mark Gonzalez, 23, of Morgan Hill, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights of congregants of Congregation Beth Shalom, in Modesto, California. According to court documents, on or about February 2, 2006, Lewis, Gonzalez and Andrew Kerber of Chico, Califiornia, conspired to deface and damage the synagogue. Lewis and Gonzalez admitted that all three of them spray-painted anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi graffiti on the synagogue’s exterior walls. Lewis and Gonzalez further admitted that the men spray-painted anti-Christian graffiti on the exterior walls of, and caused other damage to, Our Lady of Fatima Church and School in Modesto, and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, also located in Modesto. In Fresno, California, on January 31, 2011, Andrew Kerber, 22, of Chico, California, also pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of congregants of Congregation Beth Shalom, Our Lady of Fatima Church and School, and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. Lewis and Gonzalez each faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Kerber faced a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of $100,000. A sentencing hearing had been set for all three men for April 8, 2011. It was announced on April 29, 2011, that Brian Lewis and Abel M. Gonzalez were each given nine-month prison sentences followed by three years of supervised release on the felony charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights. Lewis was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. Andrew Kerber, 23, was sentenced to 36 months probation, with a condition that he serves six months home detention with electronic monitoring at his expense, on the misdemeanor charge of damaging religious property. The defendants were also ordered to pay $3,700 in restitution.

In the U.S. District Court in Spokane, Washington, on this date in 2011, white supremacist Keegan Chance Van Tuyl, 28—whose racist behaviors and race-based crimes have been described in a February 7, 2010 article in The Spokesman-Review titled "Scourge of Hatred"—was re-sentenced to two years in federal prison. This was the same sentence given to him in 2010; however, that sentence was vacated after Van Tuyl called a probation condition that prohibited him from associating with "Neo-Nazi/white supremacist affiliates unconstitutionally overboard," according to an October 2010 9th Circuit Court of Appeals memorandum. Federal prosecutors agreed. At the time of his resentencing Keegan C. Van Tuyl had served three years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is expected to complete his federal prison sentence and be released on September 26, 2011, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Among other activities, Keegan Van Tuyl—who is the son of former Central-American missionaries—co-founded two skinhead groups while in prison and he also recruited members for these white racist hate groups while in prison.

In the late evening in Hardy, Arkansas on this date in 2011, one of two self-proclaimed white supremacists threw one of several molotov cocktails at an interracial married couple's home (the 47-year-old black husband was a resident of Hardy for the past four years). Neither the black man—who had racist slurs hurled at him by the two white men immediately after the incendiary device was tossed at his home and who was at the time possibly the only black resident of this Sundown Town—nor his white wife were physically injured in the attack, but their mobile home caught fire, including curtains and an exterior wall. On March 16, 2011, near Hardy, Evening Shade, Arkansas resident Jason Walter Barnwell, 37—who hurled the gasoline-filled beer bottle—and Gary Don Dodson, 32, of Waldron, Arkansas—who drove Barnwell to the victims' home—were arrested; and, the following day both white men were arraigned in a federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, where Assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Harris said Barnwell has "an intense dislike for African Americans, Hispanics and Jews." Jason W. Barnwell and his live-in girlfriend at the time of his arrest, Wendy Treybig, 31, belonged to the racist hate group Blood and Honor. Barnwell and Gary Dodson—who has the word "Racist" tattooed on his stomach, swastikas tattooed on his head, and an "88" tattoo, which stands for "HH" and "Heil Hitler," on his throat—were the first two of a total of five white people arrested in the incident. On April 7, 2011, it was announced that Jason Barnwell, Gary D. Dodson, Jake Skyllar Murphy, 19, of Waldron, Arkansas (in Scott County), and Dustin Hammond, 20, of Hardy, were each indicted by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to interfere with the housing rights of another, one count of interfering with the housing rights of another, one count of possessing an unregistered firearm, one count of using fire in the commission of a felony, and one count of using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence related to the attack on the interracial couple. Barnwell was also indicted on a charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm. On that same date (April 7) Wendy Treybig, 31, of Evening Shade, was indicted for obstruction of justice for her role in trying to cover up the incident. If convicted as charged, Barnwell could have received up to 85 years in prison. If convicted as charged, Gary Dodson, Jake S. Murphy, and Dustin Hammond faced up to 70 years in prison each; and, Treybig could have received up to 20 years in prison. Jason Barnwell has a previous criminal history. Once when he was arrested near Hendersonville, North Carolina, Barnwell told authorities that if they put any black people in jail with him, he would kill them. It is not uncommon for persons charged with hate crimes to have committed prior crimes or to go on to commit other crimes. It is also not uncommon for residents of current and former Sundown Towns—so-called Sundown Townies—to be charged with hate crimes (regardless of the bias motivation for the hate crime) or to be involved in bias-motivated violence; and, as of the 2000 U.S. Census Evening Shade, Arkansas, located in Sharp County in the Ozarks region, had no black residents, and the town of 465 people was 98.49% White, only 0.22% Hispanic or Latino of any race, and 1.51% from two or more races. Additionally, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, Hardy, Arkansas, also located in the Ozark Mountains, was almost exclusively white and had no African-American residents: there were 578 people in Hardy in 2000, and 95.33% were White, and only 1.04% were Native American, 0.52% were Asian, 3.11% were biracial, and only 0.52% were Hispanic or Latino. Both Hardy and Evening Shade are Sundown Towns. On May 10, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Dustin Hammond and Jake Murphy each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of criminal violation of housing rights for planning to firebomb and actually participating in the firebombing of the victims' home. For their crimes Hammond and Murphy faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as part of a plea bargain, and both men were to be sentenced on August 12, 2011. Jake Murphy and Dustin Hammond were each sentenced to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Dustin Hammond is serving his federal prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI)-Low in Forrest City in eastern Arkansas, and he is expected to complete his prison sentence on August 26, 2015. On June 30, 2011, Wendy Treybig pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. Treybig admitted in court that she lied to FBI agents about her knowledge of the firebombing, and she also admitted that she urged a friend to provide to the FBI a false story that would serve as an alibi for her co-defendants. Treybig was sentenced on December 13, 2011, to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On August 26, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jason Barnwell, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of federal civil rights conspiracy and companion charges of use of fire during a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm. On December 7, 2011, Gary Dodson, 32, who was described by authorities as the ringleader of the group and who had been scheduled to go to trial on October 25, 2011, along with Barnwell, pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom in Little Rock to one count of civil rights conspiracy, one count of interference with housing rights due to race and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device for his involvement in the racially motivated firebombing of the interracial couple's home. Dodson faced a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and his sentencing has been set for April 6, 2012. Jason Walter Barnwell, described as the leader of a "combat division" of the skinhead gang Blood & Honour, faced 15 years to 35 years in prison; sentencing had been scheduled for December 20, 2011. Because he has at least three prior violent felony convictions, Barnwell—who was also linked to a May 2010 incident in Batesville, Arkansas, when a black man was surrounded by four men who jumped out of a car and threatened him—faced a minimum mandatory term of 15 years in federal prison as an "armed career criminal." It was announced on January 27, 2012, that District Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Jason Barnwell to 20 years in prison for his three crimes.

On this date in 2011 in Apache Junction, Arizona, a white man with ties to the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement hate group and who also had been a member of another neo-Nazi hate group (National Alliance), Jeffrey Harbin, 28, of Apache Junction, was pulled over by law enforcement and was found to have in his possession a dozen homemade grenade-like improvised explosive devices filled with black powder, ball bearings, and an improvised fusing system. On January 26, 2011, Harbin was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of possessing explosive devices. Each count has a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Thus, Harbin faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all three counts.

On this date in 2011 before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone in Beaumont, Texas, a member of the racist gang Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), Charles Cameron "Mojo" Frazier, 29, of Nacogdoches, Texas, pleaded guilty to committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity. Frazier, who was sentenced to life in prison on June 21, 2011, admitted that he had participated in the murders of fellow ABT member David "Super Dave" Mitchamore and Mitchamore's girlfriend, Christy Rochelle Brown in Nacogdoches. Their bodies were discovered in Nacogdoches County on August 10, 2007. David Mitchamore and Christy Brown were murdered by Brent Stalsby by "direct order" from another ABT gang member, Carl Carver, because of Mitchamore’s failure to repay a debt he owed to a higher-ranking ABT member. Terry Stalsby, who was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison, was present when the “direct order” issued by Carver was delivered to Frazier. On May 25, 2011, Brent Stalsby, 30, was sentenced to life in federal prison. On February 17, 2011, Carrie Christine Wood, 38, of New Caney, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone in Beaumont, Texas, to committing violent crime in aid of racketeering activity related to the murder of David Mitchamore. Carrie Wood was sentenced to ten years in prison on July 13, 2011.

On this date in Taft, California (Kern County) in 2012, a white man, Justin Brand Pierce, 23 (Date of Birth: May 16, 1988), of Taft, hurled a racist slur at a 14-year-old African-American male riding a bicycle before assaulting him. Justin Pierce also struggled with police when he was arrested in the 400 block of North Street a short time after the hate crime incident; and, he struggled with his jailors at the Taft Jail following his arrest. Justin B. Pierce was charged with one felony count of willful cruelty to a child (as a hate crime), two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer, and one misdemeanor count of drunk and disorderly conduct. It was reported that Pierce might also have faced felony charges for struggling with his jailors. Following his arrest, Pierce was held on $42,500 bail at the Kern County Central Receiving Facility. On February 3, 2012, Justin Pierce pled no contest to charges of inflicting corporal punishment on a child, violating civil rights by force or threat of force, and resisting officers; and, he was sentenced to only 90 days in jail.

In the early morning hours on this date in 2012 on the steps of the Second Bank of the United States near 4th Street and Chestnut Street in Old City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a white man, 23-year-old Kevin Kless who was a 2010 Temple University graduate and Temple graduate student, was beaten to death by three men who are believed to be Middle Eastern. Mr. Kless' assai